It’s fitting that Italy – the country that produced the world’s first sinologist Marco Polo – should be the first western economy to want to sign up to the BRI. But what do treasurers need to watch for?

It's like nothing China's treasurers have seen in the past 10 years; a toxic combination of defaults, US rate hikes, a downturn at home, regulatory interference and trade tensions are killing bond issuance.

In a first for the country's banks, one of China's big-four lenders taps fintech to provide a loan online. The bank says using technology will offer businesses in the agriculture sector easier access to liquidity.